Secret Mission
by MiraElizabeth
Summary: A friend from the past seeks help from Team Lightyear when he uncovers a threat to the galaxy... (edited)
1. Tom Majors

Secret Mission

By: Mira Elizabeth

Author's note:  Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and all characters relating to it belong to Disney/Pixar.  All other character are mine.  Some of the situations involving the characters in this story are just me kicking around ideas and what-ifs. If you are going to review this and any of my other fics, please make sure the reviews are constructive and helpful.  I'm getting a degree in story development and screenwriting, so if there are problems, be specific so I will know what to fix or when the confusion lies.  Thanks and now on with the story…

I keep having to re-post this blasted thing cause it keeps getting messed up, i.e. the chapters getting rearranged and I didn't request that, whole portions of chapters missing, etc.  Well here's 3 or the 6 chapters.  I hope to get the rest out in the next day or so.

Thanks,

M.E.  : )

            All was quiet on Star Cruiser 42, except for the occasional beeping from the computers.  There had been no calls for missions in the past several hours and the crew had taken the opportunity to optimize and clean up some of the ship's systems.

Buzz Lightyear stared at his console's screen, watching the numbers flash before him and smiled.  Mira's ideas to increase the ship's system-wide productivity seemed to be working.

Lightyear hit the comm. button.  "Good job, Ranger Nova.  Everything seems to be running great."

"Thank you."  Her voice crackled of the comm channel.  "I need to do a couple of tests on the propulsion systems and then I think we'll be finished."

"Okay, roger that. After you're finished XR can recalibrate the engines."

XR narrowed his robotic eyes and started to object to the idea of being forced to complete yet another task, but a message flashed up onto his console's screen.      

"Hey Buzz, we're receiving a communication from Capitol Planet.  Says his name is Tom Majors."

"Thanks, patch it through to my console, XR."

XR punched a button in front of him and then turned to the large red alien at the computer station next to him.  

"Hey Booster, who is Tom Majors?  That name sounds real familiar."

"Only one of the greatest teachers at the academy!"  Booster exclaimed.  "He's almost as legendary as Buzz.  He taught off and on at the academy until being discharged because he was permanently injured in combat."

"Ah."  The robot punched a few buttons on the console in front of him.  "I wonder if Mira is finished with those tests on the propulsion systems.  I need to recalibrate the engines."

            Buzz Lightyear leaned back in his captain's chair and smiled at the viewscreen in his console.

"Tom Majors!  Long time, no talk.  What have you been up to?"

The man on the viewscreen smiled back.  He was about the same age as Buzz and had gone through the Academy with the famous space ranger.

"Not much, Buzz, not much.  I would love to catch up old times with ya, buddy, but I have more urgent business to discuss with you."

"Really, what?"

"There is a threat to the Alliance.  A new weapon and if Zurg gets his hands on it I am afraid it could mean the end of the Alliance."

"What kind of weapon?  What is all this about?"

Majors sighed and pushed his hands through his dark hair.  "I really don't want to discuss this over a comm. channel, but the basic gist of it is that I received some information about an ancient weapon that if allowed to fall into the wrong hands could destroy everyone in this galaxy."

"Why didn't you report this to Star Command?"

"This has the potential to be very serious, Buzz.  The fewer the people who know about it the better."

"Why tell me?"  Buzz asked, folding his arms across his chest, staring at the face on the viewscreen.  

"I want you and your crew to help me find this thing and destroy it.  That way it'll never get into Zurg's hands or anyone else's for that matter."

Lightyear frowned.  "I don't know about this.  Something tells me that we should at least inform Commander Nebula.  And besides, you are a civilian now.  I couldn't put you at risk."

"Buzz, please.  I need to do this.  I was forced into retirement cause of this damn injury."  The former ranger sighed heavily.  "I need my one last shot to save the galaxy.  Surely you can't deny your old pal that."

"No."  Lightyear said after a few tense moments.  "I guess not.  But what about…"

"Don't worry about Nebula."  Majors said.  "I'll take the heat for this.  But I think the benefits from going on and completing this mission will far outweigh any breach of Star Command protocol."

Buzz shook his head.  "I'm still not too sure on this…"

"Look, I'll explain everything when I get there.  Send me your coordinates and I will take a transport shuttle out to meet you."  

"All right.  We'll see you then."

            Lightyear watched his friend emerge from the docking ramp that connected the transport shuttle to 42's hull.  The former ranger moved slowly, supported by a cane.  He put down the small duffel bag he was carrying.   

"Buzz!  So good to see you!"  Majors said, shaking Lightyear's hand.  "How's the galaxy been treating you?"

"Just fine.  And you?"

"Well now, you know what life's been like for me, Lightyear.  It's the fate that every ranger dreads."

"Now, c'mon Tom.  Retirement can't be all that bad."

"No, it isn't.  I now can watch my soaps without having to be interrupted by a mission."  Majors said with a wry smile.  "Now who else is on your team?  I heard you were partnered with Darkmatter."

A shadow passed over Buzz's face and he frowned.  

"Yeah, well he turned traitor and joined Zurg.  Apparently he had been on Zurg's payroll since our Academy days."

Majors shook his head.  "I am so out of the loop.  Never get any of the good gossip anymore."

"Now I have three crewmembers.  XR is a robot, Booster is Jo-adian and works sensors and weapons, and then there's my co-pilot, Mira Nova."

The former ranger's eyes widened.

"Did you say Mira Nova?  Princess Mira Nova?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh nothing.  I was her professor back in the Academy.  I always wondered what happened to her after graduation.  What an attitude.  I thought for sure they'd kick her out of the academy before the first week was up, but it looks like I was wrong."

"Mira can be a bit…uh…trying at times."  Buzz said with a grin.  "Now, let's get you settled.  We're putting you in our ambassador's suite."

"This is the ambassador's suite?  The brig?"  Majors asked, looking at his surroundings.

"Uh…yeah, we don't have spare quarters onboard 42.  So we usually just make up a cell to look nice.  Trust me, you have way more room in here than we do in our own quarters."    

"It's even decorated nice."  Majors said, gesturing to the curtains and the picture on the wall.  "I feel so special."

"You should.  Only our most honored guests get a picture on the wall." Lightyear smiled, sitting his friend's duffel bag on the cot.

Majors laughed and shook his head, smiling

"Now show me around the rest of this ship and I want to meet your crew."

"Yes, they've been anxious to meet you as well."  Buzz watched his friend grab his cane and felt a touch of sadness.  Majors caught the expression on Lightyear's face and grinned.

"Now, don't look like that, Buzz.  I may have to use this old thing in order to get around, but I can still kick your tail on Level 9 any day.  Now let's get moving, I want to see this ship."

"…and this is the bridge."         

The door opened with a whoosh and Majors stepped through, taking note of the three rangers that turned to stare at him.  A large, red alien stood and saluted.  He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Wow!  Captain Tom Majors!  It's nice to meet you, sir."  The alien's voice had a touch of awe in it.  

Majors reached out and shook the alien's hand, feeling slightly dwarfed by the ranger's size.  

"You must be Booster."

"Yes sir."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you.  Buzz has told me you are quite the ranger."

Booster's face turned a little redder than usual.  "Thank you, sir."

"This is XR." Lightyear gestured towards the small robot that had moved up next to him.  The little robot saluted.

"So, the LGM's finally convinced Nebula to allow them to build their robot ranger, huh?"

"Not exactly." Buzz said.  He leaned in towards Majors and lowered his voice to a whisper.  "They slipped the work order in with their vacation request."

"Does it really do the job the way the LGM's proposed?"  The former ranger asked, looking down at XR.

"Excuse me…um…hello. I'm right here, you know..." The robot said, folding his metallic arms.  He despised being treated as if he was just another one of 42's computers.  "If you want to know something about me, then ask ME!"

Majors' eyes widened.  "It has a personality?"

"Yes, I have a personality.  A very nice one in fact."  XR snapped back.

Buzz shot the robot a warning look, clearly telling the metallic ranger to be nice. XR moved back a little, still glaring at the newcomer on the bridge.

"I'm sorry if I insulted you, XR.  I'm sure you are a…" Majors paused a brief moment as movement from the co-pilot's seat caught his attention.  "…great asset to your team."

Majors watched her stand and he felt his pulse speed up.  He had felt her blue eyes boring into him the whole time he had been on the bridge, but now he was looking directly into them and they were just as he remembered.  

*Beautiful…*

"Captain Majors, so nice to see you again, sir."  She said.

"You too, Ranger Nova.  From what I've heard, you've had a very successful first two years on duty."  He smiled at her, noticing how much she still looked like the excited, fresh-faced girl who had sat in his classroom and caught his attention.  He was glad to see that two years of the missions, battles, and sleepless nights that occupied the lives of every ranger had not taken their toll on her.  

"I like to think so, sir."

"Wait, you two know each other?"  XR asked.

"Yeah, Captain Majors was one of my professors.  I took a couple of his classes at the Academy."  The princess said quickly.  He watched her eyes dart around the cruiser's bridge as if she was trying to find another place to look, anywhere but at him.

Majors cleared his throat, cutting through the silence that had settled over the bridge.

"Buzz, the information I need to brief the team on the mission is back in my bag.  Would you mind sparing Ranger Nova for a few minutes?  She and I can get the information and do a little catching up."

"Uh no, of course not."  Buzz looked at Mira, who moved towards the doorway, an odd expression on her face.

"Thanks."  Majors moved through the doorway, the princess following behind.    Once he knew they were out of earshot, he turned to face her.  He stared, something about her pretty face always made him feel fifteen years younger.  Even now, after being injured, he felt a sudden jolt of energy and youthfulness course through him.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to make things so uncomfortable in there for you.  But after not seeing you for two years, well, it brought back some memories."

The Tangean stared at him for a few moments and then sighed.

"Tom, that was back then.  I was naïve, just a dumb girl who had never really been away from home and got overwhelmed by some young, school-girlish crush…"

"Mmm-hmm, like you are so much older and wiser now, Mira."  He said, his voice had a touch of sarcasm in it.  

"Yes, I am.  I may only be two years older than that girl you said goodbye to at graduation, but *I* know now that it was wrong.  It was a stupid risk and it should never have happened in the first place."  She snapped back.

"But it did and you certainly cannot deny what happened…"

"Let's not discuss that."  The princess stopped him.  "It was a mistake for us to…"

"I don't consider it a mistake."  He interrupted.  He sighed.  He didn't want his first reunion in two years with her to be full of nothing but arguing.  "All right.  We're going to have to get through this mission together, might as well be on good terms.  Can we at least be friends?"

Mira nodded, realizing too that arguing was not going to be productive.  "As long as what happened in the past stays in the past."

Majors smiled.  "Got it.  Now let's go get that bag."

            Captain Tom Majors looked at the four faces in front of him and opened the folder in front of him.  The group was clustered around the table in 42's kitchen since the ship had no briefing room.  Folders were spread out all over the table, each containing information pertaining to the mission they were about to embark on.       

"Now, I am sure all of you have heard of a race called the Shrayak?"  Majors asked.

"Aren't they the race that everyone thinks is a myth?  Big lizard lookin' things that supposedly terrorized the galaxy hundreds of years ago."  XR said.

"Yeah, that's them.  Only they aren't a myth.  Or I should say weren't a myth.  Recent archeological finds in the Omicron sector, particularly on the planet Hyra, have proved them to be real.  It's believed that Hyra was their home world."  Majors paused, passing around vid stills taken of the excavations of the planet.  "Anyway, about two months ago I got a message from an old informant who said he had information that was important to the whole galaxy."

"Why didn't he just go to Star Command?"  Buzz asked.

"That's what I wanted to know too and he said that it was because I was the only one he trusted and that although I was no longer a ranger, he was certain that Star Command and the Alliance would listen to me."

"He told me about a weapon the Shrayak built, but before it could be used some sort of disease epidemic wiped out their race.  Supposedly this weapon has the capability of mass destruction on the planetary level."

"What does this have to do with us?"  XR asked.

"Like I told Buzz earlier, I want to find the Shrayak weapon and destroy it before it falls into the wrong hands.  It is so destructive that it could easily put the whole galaxy at risk for complete and total devastation." 

Booster looked at the vid still in front of him and then at Buzz, confusion etched on his red, round face.  

"Are you going to tell Commander Nebula, Buzz?"

Lightyear shook his head "no" and sighed.  "Well, we're going to have to decide whether we're going to do this.  Captain Majors doesn't want me to say anything to Star Command, his reason being that any communication could be dangerous and that he wants as few people knowing about the mission as possible for safety's sake.  It could potentially cost us our careers in Star Command, but the other side of that is that if Captain Majors is right about this weapon, we could save the galaxy from a lot of harm."

The group around the table sat quietly, each thinking, weighing the consequences.  Finally Mira broke the silence.

"I say we go for it."

Booster and XR nodded in agreement and Buzz looked at Tom Majors and smiled.

"I guess we're going on a mission."


	2. Hyra

Secret Mission  Chapter 2

By: Mira Elizabeth

All Star Command characters belong to Disney/Pixar.  All other characters are mine.  Scenes surrounded by *** are flashbacks.

_*** "I am so happy."  She smiled at him, her blue eyes sparkling.  The couple was snuggled together on a picnic blanket in the park.  Two wine glasses and a half empty bottle of wine sat in the picnic basket near them.  _

_He smiled back.  "Really?"_

"Mmm-hmm."  She laid her head down on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her.  She sighed happily as he played with her hair, his fingers twisting through the long red strands.

_They lay there together, her body on top of his, just enjoying the moments they were able to spend with each other.  Moments that seemed few and far between._

_"Oh Mira…" He whispered as his lips met hers.  Warm feelings coursed through him and he rolled over, her body now underneath his.  He started sliding one of the straps of her sundress from her shoulder, his lips trailing kisses down her neck.*** _

"Tom?"            

Tom Majors quickly snapped out of his reverie and turned to see who had spoken to him.  He smiled.   

"Mira."  His smile grew wider, glad to see her.  For one brief moment she was standing before him wearing that sundress, but his mind quickly switched back to reality and Mira was once again in her spacesuit.  "Is there something you wanted?"

"Uh yeah.  Buzz wanted you to know that we were almost to Hyra."

"He could have told me that over the comm link."  

She looked down.  "I know.  But I-I…"

Mira picked at an imaginary piece of lint on the sleeve of her uniform.  An uncomfortable silence filled the air for a few moments.  Finally she spoke.

"I know I said that I wanted things to stay in the past, but I wanted to apologize for our…uh…heated discussion earlier.  I shouldn't have been so defensive.  I was just as responsible for what happened with us as you were."

"Mira, it's okay.  But I have to be honest…" Majors paused.  "I still think about you, a lot actually, and where we could have been had we not parted the way we did."

"Tom, it was over from the moment it began.  It would have never worked…"

 "I know."  He said, interrupting her.  Majors sighed heavily.  "I know.  Too many things got in the way."

He stood up slowly, reached out, and patted her arm.  She smiled a little.

"We better get up to the bridge."  Mira said as she moved towards the doorway.

"Right behind you."

"There it is."  Majors said, pointing to the viewscreen in front of him.  "Hyra."    

Buzz took note of the planet's extremely rocky surface.  "XR, is there anywhere we can touch down."

The little robot punched a few buttons on his console and frowned.  "Uh-uh, Buzz.  The terrain is too uneven and I'm detecting some anomalies under the surface, possibly earthquakes."

"Well, I guess we'll put 42 in orbit and we'll go down and have a look."

Majors stood up, moving towards the bridge's doorway.  "Do you have a spare suit onboard this bird?"

Buzz jumped out of his chair and grabbed his friend's shoulder.  "Hold up, uh-uh, you are not going anywhere."

"Come on, Buzz…"

Lightyear shook his head.  "No way.  I hate to say it, pal, but you'd never make it down there."

Majors sighed.  "Yeah, I guess you're right.  I'll stay onboard 42 and monitor the planet for you."

"Sounds like a good idea."  Lightyear said with a smile.  "Okay team, let's go down there and find us that weapon."

            Mira knelt down and waved her scanner over a section of rock.  "I'm not picking up anything, Buzz.  Nothing that would indicate an underground cave or anything like that."

"Roger that, I'm not…wait a minute…" Lightyear looked down at his scanner.

"What?"

Buzz pointed the scanner to the left.  "Over there.  The surface is different from what we've been scanning."

Mira pointed her scanner in the same direction.  "Yeah, I'm getting it too."

Lightyear activated his communicator.  "Booster, XR, do you read?"

"Yeah, loud and clear."  XR's metallic voice answered back.

"Mira and I have detected something in the surface near our location.  We're going to check it out.  You two keep looking."

"Got it."

Buzz headed off in the direction of the strange surface readings, Mira following behind.  Lightyear stopped and pointed his scanner at the rocky surface.  It beeped several times.

"The surface is thinner here."  Mira said.  "There's a large, hollow area right beneath us."

"Tom, did you get that?"  Buzz said into his communicator.  

"Yeah, I heard her and she's right."  Majors' voice crackled over the comm. channel.  "According to the research, the Shrayak built large underground caverns to house their weapons and ships in.  You must be standing over one of them."

"Do you think what we're looking for could be in there?"

"Possibly.  I'm getting a faint energy signature from beneath the planet's surface.  Where it is coming from exactly I don't know; it's too faint.  But it appears to be originating not too far from your position."

"Gotcha."  Buzz turned in a circle, holding the scanner out in front of him.  He stopped suddenly, smiling.  "Here it is.  I'm picking it up on my scanner now.  You're right time, it is faint.  The scanner's barely detecting it."

Lightyear motioned for Mira to follow him and the two rangers headed in the direction of the faint signal.  Buzz pointed to a spot on the planet's surface.

"Here."  The two rangers aimed their wrist lasers at the rocky terrain and fired.  The lasers burned through the rock until a hole crumbled open.  Mira knelt down and peered into the hole.  

"There's a large cavern and…" She paused as she peered further into the hole.  "I see a light.  Very faint, but there is one down there."

"Tom, we're going to go down there and have a look.  Have Booster and XR meet us here."  Buzz said into his comm. link.

"Roger.  Be careful."

Using their jetpacks, Buzz and Mira lowered themselves through the hole and into the cavern.  Touching down on the cavern's rocky floor, both rangers activated their flashlights and looked around.  

"The cavern…it's so huge."  Mira said, her voice echoing around them.

"Yeah."  Buzz agreed.  "Where is that light you were talking about?"

The princess aimed the beam from her flashlight in the direction she had seen the light.  "This way."

Lightyear followed Mira into the tunnel she had pointed at.

"We're in some sort of tunnel and there is this faint blue light coming from up ahead."  Buzz said into his communicator.  A strange static was the response.  "Tom.  Tom.  Are you there?  Did you get that?"

"Yeah."  Majors' voice crackled, dueling with the static that threatened to drown out his voice.  "Just watch out for any booby traps."

"Booby traps?!"  Mira's voice went up a few octaves.

"Sorry."  The former ranger's voice sounded a little sheepish.  "Forgot to mention that the Shrayak liked to hide booby traps in order to protect their ships and weapons from intruders."

"Great."  Mira muttered.  "Just great."

She took a cautious step forward.  Buzz moved next to her, being just as careful.  The pair continued down the tunnel and after what seemed like an eternity, reached the end.  

Mira turned, a hand resting on one hip, and looked at the tunnel behind her.

"Wow!  That's a change.  We actually made it through that okay.  No traps going off, no floor opening up underneath of us…ohhhhhhhh…." The princess had turned back around and like her teammate was looking directly at what they had been searching for.  

"The Shrayak weapon."  She whispered.  


	3. The Weapon

Secret Mission-Chapter 3

By: Mira Elizabeth

All Star Command characters belong to Disney/Pixar.  All other characters are mine.

            The weapon loomed in front the two rangers, a tall, cylindrical like structure with a three mounts on top that supported a large floating orb.  It was the orb that was the source of the eerie blue light they had seen, and it cast a strange glow over the cavern.  An occasional spark of energy crackled across the ball's surface proving that the object was still fuctioning..  

            "I can't believe it still works."  Mira said, continuing to look at the weapon, awe etched on her lovely face.  She stared at the weapon, her eyes traveling from the energy ball to the console unit located directly beneath it.

"I can.  According to my research, the Shrayak made sure the weapon would be at optimal performance for thousands of years."  Majors' voice came over Buzz's comm. channel, crackling occasionally from interference caused by the weapon.  "Don't ask me how they did it, but it should be able to function as well as it did the first time it went online."

"Wonderful."  The princess grumbled under her breath.  "It's old, possibly unstable, and fully charged."

Lightyear cast a sidelong glance at the young woman and began to move towards the weapon, Mira following behind.  Both rangers approached the weapon cautiously and Mira reached out a hand and ran her fingers over the surface of the weapon.  She stopped before her fingers reached what appeared to be several buttons..  

"These must control it."  She said.  "And look at these markings."  

Lightyear leaned over her shoulder and peered down at the strange markings that were located just below the buttons.  "Must be the instructions on how to use the weapon."

"Yeah."  Mira backed away from the weapon and turned her gaze back up to the glowing ball in front of her.  She shivered a little and prayed silently that they would get out of there soon.  She hated the weapon, her mind picking up strage sensations that she dared not tell Buzz.  He still didn't understand everything she could do with her powers and on occasion would blow her off.  She really hated that.  And she hated being in the cave with the weapon.  The blasted thing gave her the creeps.

"Buzz…" Captain Majors' voice crackled over the comm. channel.  "I want to see it.  I want to see the weapon."

"No.  I can't let you come down here."  Lightyear responded.  

"Please.  I have to see it.  I've come this far…"

Lightyear sighed, interrupting him.  Majors could always talk him into anything. "Alright, alright…I'll send Booster and XR up to escort you to the planet."

            Majors clutched onto Booster as the ranger helped him towards the tunnel's opening.  The blue light from the energy ball cast its strange glow down the length of the tunnel as Majors, Booster, and XR made their way towards the other cavern.  They came to the tunnel's end and Majors' mouth dropped open.

"Wow."  

"Yeah."  XR said.  "Double wow."

Booster helped Majors walk to the weapon and Lightyear took his friend's arm.  Majors reached out a hand, leaned forward and touched the weapon's surface.  He smiled at the princess, who was standing next to him.  

"We did it.  We found the weapon."

"Yeah, we did.  The Alliance is safe now."  Mira smiled back at the former ranger and patted him on the arm.  

Buzz hit his communicator, preparing to activate a channel.  The sound of the communicator activating caught Majors' attention and he turned his head in Buzz's direction.

"Wait! What are you doing?"  Majors yelled.

Lightyear looked at him, confused.  "What do you mean what am I doing?  I'm contacting Star Command…"

"You can't!"  Majors grabbed Buzz's arm.  "Someone may be listening in to any communications.  We should just destroy it."

"But Tom, the Alliance…" A laser shot barely missed Buzz's head, cutting the ranger off in mid sentence.

"The Alliance, my dear Lightyear, is doomed."  A booming voice said from behind him.

Team Lightyear and Captain Majors turned around, the four rangers' mouths opened in shock.  

"Zurg!"  Buzz growled, his hand moved towards the button that activated his wrist laser.  "How in the galaxy did you find us?"

The evil emperor rubbed his hands together, grinning like a cat who had just eaten the canary.  

"I have my ways."  He gestured towards Tom Majors.  The former ranger avoided looking at Team Lightyear, who just stared at him, disbelief etched on their faces.  Zurg continued to grin.  "Don't you just love it?  I convinced Captain Majors that it would be very much worth his while to find the weapon.  I just didn't think that Majors would turn to his old buddy, Buzz Lightyear, for help finding the weapon.  This just keeps getting better and better!"

The rangers watched as an army of Hornets take position around them, each robotic soldier's laser trained on the four teammates.  The team activated their wrist lasers, preparing to fire on the metallic army.

Zurg moved closer to the Shrayak device, rubbing his hands together.  "Definitely an impressive piece of technology.  Still functioning after all this time.  But then again, the Shrayak were considerably more advanced then the rest of the galaxy."

The emperor touched the weapon's surface.  "And even after their destruction, they still left this wonderful gift."

"Wonderful?"  Lightyear said through gritted teeth.  "I hardly think that thing would be considered wonderful."

Zurg turned to face the ranger and grinned.  "Depends on how you look at it.  Now, I would love to continue this conversation but I'm really pressed for time."

He waved one his clawed hands in the rangers' direction.  "Hornets..."

The metallic army moved closer to the four rangers and the team took action to defend themselves.  Buzz fired the first shot, his laser hitting a Hornet squarely in the chest, sparks shooting from its damaged form.  Laser beams shot across cavern as the two sides fired at each other.  The Hornets continued their advance, the four rangers tried desperately to stop Zurg's robotic army, but for every Hornet they destroyed, another would move into its place.  It became apparent that Zurg had come well prepared.  

Buzz activated his jet pack, trying to get the advantage from above the battle, but was almost instantly shot down.  He landed on the cavern's rocky floor, the impact shooting pain through every inch of him.  Mira was cornered and exhausted, having used her ghosting powers too much trying to escape.  She notcied Buzz lying in a heap on the ground and tried to rush to his aid, but was stopped by the Hornets.  Booster had been overtaken by several of the robotic soldiers, the large alien panting from exertion, and XR's metallic body lay is pieces on the cavern floor.

"It's no use, Lightyear.  You are finished and the Alliance will be destroyed!"  Zurg exclaimed as the space ranger was hauled to his feet by a couple of Hornets.

The emporer laughed.  "The great Buzz Lightyear!  Ha!  Not so great now, are you?  You know, Lightyear, your track record with your friends hasn't been too good lately, has it?  They all seem to come to me."  

He laughed again and Buzz glared at his enemy, before turning his gaze to Tom Majors.    

"How could you? I can't believe you would do this."  Lightyear said angrily.  

Majors stood silent for a few moments and then spoke.

"I had nothing after being discharged.  My whole life was the Rangers and then all of a sudden, poof, it's all gone.  I started gambling, getting into stuff I shouldn't have and before I knew it, all of my retirement benefits were gone.  I was penniless and some people I owed money to were becoming threatening."

The former ranger watched as the Hornets dragged Mira, Booster, and XR's pieces to where Buzz was being held captive.  Mira lifted her head, her blue eyes peering out from behind her disheveled hair, boring holes into him.  If looks could kill he would have been dead and Majors tried not to squirm under her glare.

"But then an informant told me about the Shrayak weapon.  I decided I was going to try to find it and then sell it to the highest bidder.  I just assumed that it would be the Alliance who would pay for the weapon, but then Zurg heard about the plan to find weapon and made me an offer.  It was more than I could have hoped for.  I would have been set for life and would have taken care of my debts.  I didn't intend to sell out the Alliance or the Rangers, it just turned out that way."

"It doesn't matter.  You did and that makes you a traitor.  No better than that scum we go after everyday."  Buzz said, his voice icy.  "Actually, you're worse.  Cause you were supposed to be one of us…"

"Oh get off of it, Lightyear."  Zurg grumbled, interrupting him  "You always have to over dramatize everything."

The evil emperor looked down at the time indicator on his wrist and frowned.    

"Besides, I have a schedule to keep and your little do-gooder speech is taking much too long."

Zurg motioned for the Hornets to move his captives towards the tunnel's opening.          

"Now if you wouldn't mind accompanying me to my ship, I will be more than happy to show you my plans for this wonderful device.  They're quite exctiting, I assure you."  He laughed.  "Hornets, take them away."

The villain watched as his robotic soldiers lead a struggling Team Lightyear out of the cavern.  He turned to Majors, who was watching some of the Hornets prepare the Shrayak weapon for transport.  

"I commend you, Captain Majors.  You found me the weapon and helped me capture Team Lightyear.  You will be well rewarded for your efforts."  Zurg clapped the former ranger on the back.  "Now back to my ship.  I have four rangers to dispose of and a galaxy to conquer.  And I have you to thank for it!"

Chapter 4 Coming…


	4. Zurg

Secret Mission Chapter 4

By: Mira Elizabeth

All Star Command characters belong to Disney/Pixar.  All other characters belong to me.

            "Welcome aboard, Lightyear."  Zurg said, grinning.  The evil emperor tapped a finger on the force field that he had entrapped Team Lightyear behind.  The field shimmered with energy under his touch.  "What do you think of the latest thing to come out of the science department?  Pretty snazzy, eh?"

            Buzz looked around the prison that enclosed him and his teammates.  "Doesn't look like much to me.  Typical force field."

            "Ah but that's where you're wrong, Lightyear.  It's laser-proof, ghost-proof, and completely unbreakable."  Zurg turned his back to the rangers, moving towards his throne.  The evil emperor sat down and laced his fingers together.  He grinned at the rangers from his seat.  "I'm going to give you a little demonstration of what this weapon can do.  If Captain Majors' research is correct, this weapon will be able to annihilate whole planets with one burst."

            Booster and Mira were trying to repair the dismantled XR, who was still several parts short of being complete.  The princess looked up at Zurg when he said the former ranger's name.  She frowned and looked around as if searching for Majors, before she continued helping Booster.  The two rangers finished fixing the little robot and Mira activated him.  XR looked around, confused.  

            "Wha…what is going on here?"  He moved his cylindrical head in a side-to-side movement.  "Zurg's ship?  How in the galaxy did we get here?"

            "Majors betrayed us.  Don't you remember?"  Mira whispered, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

            "Oh yeah, I knew there was something about that guy that set my wires on end."

            Mira rolled her eyes and shook her head.  

            "Buzz, how are going to get out of here.  Zurg is going to use the weapon.  We've got to stop him!"  The Jo-adian said, his eyes wide.  

            "I don't know, Booster.  But don't worry, I'll figure something out."

            The team of rangers watched as Zurg's grubs made the weapon ready for firing.  They saw Majors come from behind the weapon, limping slowly.  The man stood in front of Zurg, his face looking weary.  

            "I've located the firing mechanism and it's ready to go."  He said, his voice sounding troubled and exhausted.  

            "Wonderful! Fantastic!"  Zurg cried exuberantly.  He stood up from his throne and moved to position himself in front of the weapon.  Majors pointed to a section of the weapon's surface and the emperor reached out a hand.  He looked over at Majors, his hand hovering next to a largish dark colored button on the surface.  "Is it this one?"

            Majors nodded and Zurg's triumphant grin grew even more. 

            "Time to test this thing, maybe blast a few moons, and then I can take care of that pesky Alliance.  I'm sure they'll surrender rather quickly after I blow up one or two of their member planets."

            Zurg slammed his hand down on the button and the blue energy ball glowed even brighter, turning bright white once it was fully charged.  Zurg's ship rocked as the ball emitted a powerful beam of energy that shot out through the ship and across the stars.  The rangers watched in horror as the beam's target, a small moon, exploded into nothing more that sparks and space dust.  Majors looked away, unable to watch the weapon's destructive force in action.

            He cast a quick glance at his former friends and sighed heavily.  He couldn't allow this to continue.  He had done a terrible thing, he had betrayed his friends, his beloved Star Command, and everything he had once fought for.  The guilt running through his mind was being too much for him to deal with.  Majors looked over at the emperor, who was laughing and celebrating with the Grubs over his new weapon's performance.  He had to stop this.

            The former ranger mover slowly to the console that controlled the force field that surrounded Team Lightyear.  He looked at over at Zurg, who was too busy destroying moons to notice him pressing the button the disabled the force field.  

            Zurg turned around suddenly upon hearing the sound of the force field being turned disabled.  "What the…"

            He couldn't even finish the sentence before Team Lightyear had begun firing upon him and his helpers.  The grubs scurried for cover as laser beams flew over their heads.  Zurg's Hornets fired back at the rangers, trying to protect the emperor, but Buzz and his teammates took advantage of the emperor and the Hornet's not being prepared for the attack.  They quickly gained the upper hand, the broken metallic bodies of Zurg's Hornet army lay all around on the ship's floor.  

            Zurg stood in shock at the ruins of his soldiers and his plans.  He clenched his fists and glared at Lightyear.

            "You…"  He growled,  but he stopped, noticing Lightyear's wrist laser being trained directly on him   

            "My weapon!  My plans!  Curse you, Buzz Lightyear!"  Zurg screamed, the grubs pulling him out of the throne room and fleeing to the escape pods.  

            Team Lightyear watched the pods move quickly away from the ship.  

            "Where's Majors?"  Mira asked.

            "I don't know.  I am assuming he fled with Zurg.  We probably took him by surprise like we did Zurg when the force field failed."  Buzz said.

            "Yeah, that was just odd."  XR commented.  "One minute it's there, one minute it isn't."

            "Well whatever happened we can't dwell on it now.  We have to find a way to get rid of this weapon and get off this ship."  Buzz said.  "Booster, try to find some way for us to get off Zurg's vessel."

            Booster ran out of the throne room and the three other rangers stared at the weapon.  

            "How are we going to get rid of this stupid thing."  XR asked.

            They were silent for a few moments, each thinking of a way to destroy the weapon and save themselves.  Finally Mira spoke up.

            "I'll stay here and try to destroy the weapon.  If I get trapped, I can ghost out."  She said.

            "No, I can't let you do that."  Buzz said.  "There has to be another way."

            "There is none I can think of."

            Booster's cheerful, excited voice suddenly came in over Buzz's communicator.  "Buzz!  Buzz!  There's a transport shuttle still onboard.  I'm here in the rear shuttle bay."    

Lightyear sighed.  "All right.  Booster, XR, and I will take the transport get a good distance from the ship.  We'll wait for you there.  Be careful, okay."

Mira nodded and watched her team depart in the transport shuttle.  Zurg's ship trembled under her feet as moved away from the vessel.  She moved over towards the weapon, staring up at it for a moment.  The glowing blue ball crackled with energy and the thought of being alone with something so deadly and destructive made the princess shiver a little.

            "Mira..." Buzz's voice crackled over her comm link.  "This is just a cargo transport.  We have no weapons."

            "Got it."  She responded.  "I'll find and activate the self destruct mechanism on the weapon and then ghost out.  Okay.  Just be prepared to pick me up."

            "Roger that."

            The princess began looking for any sign of a self-destruct on the Shrayak weapon.  After a few moments of searching, she was becoming frustrated.  Suddenly a burst of laser fire whizzed past her head, barely missing her.  Mira backed up, looking around her and then her eyes widened.


	5. Redemption

Secret Mission Chapter 5

By: Mira Elizabeth

All Star Command characters belong to Disney/Pixar.  All other characters belong to me.

"You!"  She hissed as Captain Majors limped from the shadows, pointing a blaster at her.  Mira's hand instinctively moved to her wrist laser, preparing to fire on the man.

            "Drop the weapon!"  The princess commanded.  

            "No.  I can't do that."  

            "I said drop it!"  She yelled.  He responded by pointing the blaster at the young woman's head.  Mira frowned, her fingers inching ever closer to the button that activated her wrist laser.  "I will fire."

"Mira, please. Stand down.  Please don't make me shoot you.  I don't want to have to hurt you."  Majors said, his blaster still trained on the princess. 

            She stood there, fingers hovering above her wrist laser, ready to fire.  Tears shone in her eyes and threatened to spill down her cheeks.  

            "I am so stupid."  She spat out angrily.  "I trusted you.  I thought you were one of us.  You know what, the whole time I was in the Academy I looked up to you.  I thought that there was no better Space Ranger than Tom Majors and I wanted to be the kind of ranger I thought you were."

            "Mira…"

            "Nooooo!!!!"  She wailed, the tears now streaming down her cheeks.  "Shut up!  Just shut up!  I can't believe I was stupid enough to love you.  All through the Academy, I loved you.  I can't believe I let you…that night…that night we…all the times we..."

            The former ranger gave a small, sad smile.  "I've never forgotten that night or all..."

            Majors' voice trailed off as he lowered his weapon, suddenly realizing that all of the money in the galaxy wasn't worth what he was doing to this young woman.  He stared at her, her finger still positioned over her wrist laser and her tear-stained face still rigid with anger.

            "I'm sorry.  I am so sorry, Mira.  Please forgive me.  I never wanted any of this to happen.  I didn't know what else to do.  I was scared.  Everything had been taken away from me and I just sank down deeper and deeper into my self-pity and loneliness.  I thought this was the only way out.  But I never wanted to hurt you.  Or Buzz.  Or anyone else for that matter."  

            She stood there, continuing to glare at him and ready to fire.  But after a moment, something in her softened and despite her training, she moved her hand away from her laser.  The Tangean folded her arms across her chest.  

            "You want to redeem yourself, Majors, then help me destroy this thing."  She said, her voice still icy.

            He nodded slowly.  "All right."

            Both began searching for any signs of a self-destruct mechanism along the weapon's surface.

            "Damn!  There isn't one on here!"  Majors cried out in frustration.

            "No.  There has to be."  Mira continued to look over the weapon's surface in front of her.  A small button off to the side of the weapon caught her eye and her face lit up with an excited smile.  "This has got to be it!"

            Majors looked over her shoulder at the little button.

            "It's small and not with the others."  He commented.  

            "Yeah, that's why I didn't notice it at first."  She said.  "I'm going to see what it does."

            "Just don't blow us up."  He joked nervously.

            Mira rolled her eyes and pressed the button.  A small compartment opened, revealing a larger button underneath.

            "I think we've found what we're looking for."  The princess said.

            "Yeah, I'd have to say so."

             "Okay then."  Mira sighed.  "I'm going to activate the self destruct and then ghost the both of us out of here."

            "Got it.  Pray that it gives us enough time to get out."

            Mira looked at him for a brief moment and then took a deep breath.  "Okay, ready…one…two…three…"

            She slammed her hand down on the button.  Nothing.  She pounded on it with her fist a few times.  Still nothing.

            "Ah hell.  I should have known."  Majors grumbled.  "The damn Shrayak must have put some sort of lock that you have to have a code for or something in order to activate the self-destruct."

            "Can we try to break it?"  

            Majors shook his head.  "It would take us years to figure this thing out completely and Zurg or somebody worse than him could try to come and take it later on down the road.  No, this thing has got to be destroyed now."

            The former ranger sighed.  "And there is only one way I know to do it."

            Mira looked at him for a moment, confusion etched on her face, but it disappeared as a disturbing realization came over her.  

"One of us will just have to use a blaster on it and destroy it."  She said, picking up the blaster from the console.  She turned and faced him, no fear showed on her face, but a hint of sadness flickered in her eyes.  She raised the blaster at the Shrayak weapon. 

 "Go on.  I'll give you time to get far enough away.  Please have Buzz go to Tangea and tell my father that I love him.  Now go."

            He stood there, not moving.

            "Go!"  She yelled at him.  

            "No."  He said softly.

            Mira lowered the blaster a little.  "What?  What do you mean no?"

            "No.  I am not letting you do this."

            "I'm a Ranger.  This is what I swore to do."  Mira told him.  "Now go."

            Majors folded his arms and stood his ground firmly.  "No.  I am not going to let you sacrifice yourself."

            He moved closer to her, reaching out a hand and gently touching her cheek.  "I'll destroy the weapon, Mira.  I need you to live, be a ranger, get married, have lots of babies, be the greatest queen to ever sit on the throne of Tangea.  I need you to do everything you are destined to do, not die here.  It's not your time, it's mine."

            "But…"

            Majors put a finger to her lips to stop her from speaking.  

 "I've made too many mistakes lately, but the biggest one would be for me to leave you and let you kill yourself by blowing this thing up."  He said.

  "Besides my life is over.  It has been from the day they told me I would never be a Ranger again.  I don't want to be remembered as poor old Tom Majors who got injured and never quite recovered.  Screwed up his life royally…" He smiled at Mira sadly and touched her face again.  "…and who, because of protocol, duty, and a host of other stupid reasons, let the only woman he ever loved slip away."          

            Tears formed in the princess's eyes and she tried desperately to hold them back.

            "I want to be remembered for the last good thing I did for this galaxy.  I want what every ranger wants, to have honor and glory associated with their name.  I've got to redeem myself to this universe, Mira, and this is the only way I know how."

            "Tom, please…"

            The former ranger shook his head and took the blaster from her.  He gave the princess a gentle shove to get her moving.  She stumbled a few steps and then stopped, turning to look at him.

            "I want you to go!"  Majors yelled at her.  The tears were now streaming down her cheeks.  She turned to leave but he suddenly grabbed her arm.

            She thought for a moment the former Ranger had changed his mind and was coming with her, but instead he turned her around to face him.

            "Tell your team I'm sorry.  Tell Buzz I'm sorry.  Tell him that I am proud to know that Star Command has someone like Buzz Lightyear serving in it.  Tell him that I am proud to say that I was his friend.  Tell him.  Please, Mira, do this for me."

            She nodded tearfully.  

            "There's just one last thing…" Majors said.  

Pulling her close, he kissed Mira tenderly and just for an instant he was transported back to a time where he was still one of the good guys and the only worry he had was making her happy. 

            He savoured the feeling of her lips against his and after a couple of moments, Majors broke the kiss and cupped her face in his hands.

            "I'm glad I got to see you again."  He whispered, wiping the tears from her cheeks.  "Now go."

            She broke free of his grasp and raced to hull of the ship, preparing to ghost through it.  The princess turned her head to get one last look at him.

            "Go!"  He yelled at her again.

            Majors watched her slender form, which was surrounded by a hazy bluish glow, slip through the hull of Zurg's ship and out into space.  She was gone.

            He waited a few more moments, giving her enough time to get far enough away from the vessel before he destroyed the weapon.  He took a few deep breaths and aimed his blaster at the Shrayak weapon.  His mind pulled up one final image: her beautiful, smiling face.  

            "Mira…"

            He pulled the trigger.


	6. Honor

Secret Mission Chapter 6

By: Mira Elizabeth

All Star Command characters are the property of Disney/Pixar.  All other characters are mine.

            The blast was enormous.  Mira was a safe enough distance away, watching Zurg's ship turn into a virtual fireball and then shatter into an infinite number of small pieces.  

            The princess turned and activated her jet pack, flying as quickly as she could towards the transport shuttle from Zurg's ship where her team was waiting.  She just wanted to get away from there; she just had to.  Feelings were beginning to overwhelm her.

            Thankfully and much to her relief, Buzz asked no questions when she boarded the ship.  He just smiled weakly at her and the flight back to the station was silent, no one saying a word.  

            The Commander was waiting for them in his office when they arrived back to the station.  The four rangers stood in silence before him and waited for the tirade.  And Nebula didn't disappoint.

            "What in blue blazes were you people thinking?!  Running all over the quadrant on a mission that you just failed to mention!  I oughta put you four on permanent traffic duty! I…I…" The commander clenched his hands into fists and turned his back to his crewmembers.  "You're on suspension.  All of you.  Until I say when you can return to duty or should I say if you return to duty, cause right now I about two nanoseconds away from discharging all of you."

            "But Commander…" Buzz began, but was stopped by Mira placing a hand on his arm.

            "Buzz, don't make it worse."  She said softly.

            "Take you team and leave, Lightyear, before I make those suspensions permanent."  

            "Yes sir."  Buzz ushered his crew from Nebula's office.

            Nebula sighed heavily and sat down.  He hated doing what he had just done, but it was necessary.  Secretly the long-time ranger wished he had had the guts to do what Buzz Lightyear and his team had done.  Sacrifice everything that mattered for the safety of the Alliance.  He wished he could have joined them.  They were heroes, suspended heroes, but heroes nonetheless.  He understood the reasoning behind not informing him of the mission.  He was angry, but he understood.  And despite his anger, he was proud of them.  Very proud.

            "What do we do now?"  Booster asked once they were out in the hallway. He looked terribly upset.

            Lightyear sighed heavily and leaned back against the wall.  

            "I don't know.  Go home, visit families, stay around here.  We're on suspension. Find something to do, I guess.  At least until I hear from the Commander."  He looked over at Mira, who was looking exhausted.  "You okay?"

            She nodded.  "I…I just need to go to my quarters, okay.  I'm worn out."

            The princess turned quickly on her heel and tried not to leave her teammates too fast, but once she was out of their visual range, she broke into a run down the hallway.  The door to her quarters opened and she raced inside.  Once the door closed, Mira leaned against it and sank to the floor.  She drew her knees to her chest, buried her head in her arms and sobbed. 

            Team Lightyear stood once again, as they had a week ago, in the Commander Nebula's office, each hopeful that the Commander would tell them that they were off suspension.  Not that they hadn't utilized the past week to their advantages.  

Booster had taken the time to see his family; XR spent a week in the shop for a long over due maintenance check up, and Buzz spent the week taking care of odd and ends around his home.  

Mira had planned on going home to Tangea for the week, but decided against it.  She opted instead to spend the week alone and spent most of her time shut away in her quarters to be alone with her thoughts and feelings.  The previous week's events had left her drained and upset and for a brief period, she honestly wondered whether Star Command was truly where she should be.  But those feelings passed and instead she chose to reflect on her relationship with Tom Majors.  A man with whom she had experienced a whole gamut of emotions and who, with his recent behaviors, had made her think about what kind of person she was.

The commander entered his office and regarded each crewmember with a hard look.  The man sat down, his prosthetic leg making the action a little awkward, and he placed his elbows on his desk, clasped his hands together, and leaned forward.

"You four are off suspension.  But I don't want to ever hear of anything like this again.  Cause the next time I do, it won't be just a suspension.  Your careers in this organization will be finished and I don't care what your service records look like."  He looked directly at Buzz as he said the last sentence.  "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!"  The four rangers said in unison, saluting their commanding officer.

The Commander sighed.  "At ease.  Now with that ugly mess is out of the way, on to the next item.  Star Command and the Alliance have decided to honor Captain Tom Majors as a hero, despite his initial traitorous acts.  We felt that his sacrifice more than made up for the mistakes he had made and therefore he will be honored with a memorial in the section of the Star Command Museum reserved for those who have died in the line of duty.  The ceremony will be tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you, sir."  Buzz said, with a smile.  "I am sure Captain Majors would have been honored by this action."

"Yeah, I'm sure he would've.  Now get out of here, all of you.  I've got work to do."

Team Lightyear saluted once more and turned, leaving Nebula's office.       

Epilogue

            Mira stood looking up at the plaque that bore her former teacher's name.  She reached a hand up and traced the letters of his name with a fingertip, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

            She sighed and hugged her arms around herself, feeling the rather unfamiliar fabric of her dress uniform.  She continued to look up at the plaque for several moments and then she realized something.

            The Tom Majors she knew from long ago, the man she considered her friend would not want her moping around.  He would want her out among the stars, living and doing what she enjoyed, which was being a Space Ranger.

            She turned to leave, but before she did, she blew a kiss over her shoulder at the plaque.

            "Goodbye Tom.  I won't forget."  She said with a smile and walked out of the room to find the rest of her team and to deliver a very important message she had promised to deliver to Buzz Lightyear.  


End file.
